Fiscal Cliff Quarrels Keep US Stocks In Check

NEW YORK (AP) â¿¿ Wall Street came back to work after the Thanksgiving weekend and faced leftover worries about the "fiscal cliff" and the European debt crisis. Stocks retreated after one of their best weeks of the year.

The major U.S. economic reports were not due until later in the week, leaving investors to rehash the European debt crisis and talks in Washington over the "cliff" of tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect Jan. 1.

"The themes seem about as recycled as Thanksgiving turkey," David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Funds, wrote in a note to clients.

He expected a better read on the economy later this week, with reports on consumer confidence on Tuesday and unemployment claims and third-quarter economic growth on Thursday.

Scott Carmack, co-portfolio manager at Leader Capital in Portland, Ore., said the decline Monday was all but inevitable after last week, when the Dow climbed 3.3 percent because of encouraging signs from Washington and good economic news overseas.

That made Monday a good day to cash out on last week's gains, Carmack said, especially because traders aren't sure how the fiscal cliff will affect the market for the rest of the year.

"Monday is a good day to take profits," Carmack said. "No one was in on Friday, so they're doing it Monday."

The National Retail Federation reported that 247 million shoppers visited stores and shopping websites during the long Thanksgiving weekend, up 9 percent from a year ago. They spent an average of $423, up 6 percent.